1973 Federal-Aid Highway Bill Mandated Corridor Studies (Section 143)

[CanesFan27]

In section 143 of the 1973 Federal-Aid Highway Bill - a list of ten highway corridors was named for the Secretary of Transportation to conduct studies "...on the feasibility and necessity for constructing to appropriate standards proposed highways along the following:"  The Secretary of Transportation was to report to Congress by January 1, 1975, these findings.

The link to the full bill - entered into law on August 13, 1973 can be found: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-87/pdf/STATUTE-87-Pg250.pdf

The ten corridors were:

1. A route from Brunswick, GA, or its vicinity, to Kansas City, MO, or its vicinity, so aligned to serve the following intermediate locations: Columbus, GA; Birmingham, AL; Tupelo, MS; Memphis, TN; Batesville or Jonesboro, AR; and Springfield, MO.

2. A route from Kansas City, MO, or its vicinity, to Chicago, IL, or its vicinity, so aligned as to cross the Mississippi River at a point between Nauvoo, IL, on the north, and Hannibal, Missouri, on the south.

3. A route from Amarillo, TX, or its vicinity, to Las Cruces, NM, or its vicinity, so aligned as to serve the following intermediate locations, or vicinities thereof: Hereford, TX; Clovis, NM, Portales, NM; Roswell, NM; Ruidoso, NM; Tularosa, NM; and Alamogordo, NM.  Together with a branch route from Alamogordo, NM, or its vicinity, to El Paso, TX, or its vicinity, to connect with Interstate 10 and the Port of Entry with Mexico.

4. A route from the Port of Catoosa, OK, or its vicinity, to I-35 in Ponca City, OK, or its vicinity.

5. Extension of I-70 from Cove Fort, UT, or its vicinity, in a westerly direction, so aligned to serve the intermediate locations of Ely and Carson City, NV, or their vicinities.

6. A route from Kansas City, MO, or its vicinity, to Baton Rouge, LA, or its vicinity, so aligned to serve one or both of the following locations or vicinities thereof: Fayetteville, Fort Smith, and Texarkana, AR; or Little Rock, AR or any other route through the state of Arkansas determined feasible by such State and the Secretary.

7. A route from I-380 from Waterloo, IA via Dubuque, IA, to I-90 at Rockford, IL; and an extension of I-74 from Davenport, IA/Moline, IL area through Dubuque, IA to I-90 at LaCrosse, WI.

8. Extension of I-27 from Lubbock, TX, or its vicinity in a southerly direction to intersect with I-20 and, proceeding further, to intersect with I-10.

9. A route from Salina, KS, or its vicinity, in a northerly direction to intersect with I-80 in the vicinity of York, NE, and, proceeding further, to I-29 in the vicinity of Watertown, SD.

10. A route from Wichita, KS, or its vicinity, to Tucumcari, NM, or its vicinity, so aligned to serve the following intermediate locations or vicinities thereof: Pratt, KS; Meade, KS; Liberal, KS; Guymon, OK; Stafford, TX; Dalhart, TX; and Logan, NM; OR any other route through the State of Kansas determined feasible by such State and the Secretary.

[Roadgeek Adam]

Mentioned off site, but #4 is the Northwest Passage proposal. That thing was basically dead before 1973 ended and definitely dead by May 1974.

[Dougtone]

Some of these corridors are being looked again in the modern day in some form, such as the Chicago-Kansas City Expressway, or at least part of Corridor 1 (I-22 from Birmingham to Memphis, for instance). Others are head scratchers.

[Henry]

I presume that this I-70 extension would've ended in Sacramento, but that would force Caltrans to renumber CA 70 to something else, nearly a decade after its establishment on the current routing, so as to satisfy its no-duplicate rule.

[Scott5114]

Mentioned off site, but #4 is the Northwest Passage proposal. That thing was basically dead before 1973 ended and definitely dead by May 1974.

I've always seen term "Northwest Passage" in the context of Oklahoma highways as referring to OK-3 northwest of OKC (it is signed as "Governor George Nigh's Northwest Passage" in recognition of his work to upgrade much of the corridor to expressway).

[SEWIGuy]

Some of these corridors are being looked again in the modern day in some form, such as the Chicago-Kansas City Expressway, or at least part of Corridor 1 (I-22 from Birmingham to Memphis, for instance). Others are head scratchers.

The CKC Expressway is just a bunch of unnecessary signage.

[triplemultiplex]

7. A route from I-380 from Waterloo, IA via Dubuque, IA, to I-90 at Rockford, IL; and an extension of I-74 from Davenport, IA/Moline, IL area through Dubuque, IA to I-90 at LaCrosse, WI.

Waterloo to Rockford, eh?  Interesting western endpoint.

And Quad Cities to La Crosse... as an I-74 extension.  I'm assuming they were thinking US 61 corridor north of Dubuque. Find it hard to think of that being a legit interstate corridor even back then. 

Makes me wonder who was the US Rep for Dubuque at the time.

[SEWIGuy]

I think US-61 serves its purpose quite well between the Quad Cities and Dubuque. 4 lanes, but no need to be an interstate.

There is no need to have anything more than a two lane road between Dubuque and La Crosse.